


Misery Loves Company

by soapficgal



Category: Days of Our Lives, Port Charles
Genre: A Crossover story, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapficgal/pseuds/soapficgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank Scanlon and Billie Reed meet up with one another and find love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Misery Loves Company

“Five years,” Frank Scanlon thought to himself as he felt the small velvet box in his pocket serving as a painful reminder of what should have been. He fingered the top of the box, his heart breaking as he found himself drawn back to the moment his life had changed forever. Closing his eyes tightly, he could see it in living color all over again. He was back at the hospital trying to see Karen, but it was too late. She was gone and any hopes for a forever between them had been taken with her. Her death had served as the ultimate knife to the heart and now as Frank stood in the middle of the darkened road, he knew that he would never be able to forget how he’d failed her.

“I’m sorry Karen,” Frank mouthed to himself drawing in a breath before looking to the flashing neon sign overhead. It was another tempting open invitation to the hell he’d surrounded himself in after her death. At the time he’d believed in forever and in the supernatural, but when he’d realized that the drugs that had been in his system wore off, he knew full well there was nothing even remotely close to vampires or eternal life. It was just a joke that sucked an entire town into madness. Only like everyone else, Frank would never truly be able to rise above the darkness had consumed him.

“Oh Karen,” he whispered her name feeling the words vibrate from his lips.

He shuddered as a chill overtook him, creeping in over his spine and leaving behind an ache that went well beyond any other kind of pain he’d known. He’d loved and lost the love of his life and now his days meant nothing. His nights meant even less as he’d weaved his way to places where he could forget--places where people wouldn’t bother him or ask his name while his sorrows slowly faded along with him to a state unconsciousness. Tonight would be no different. While he’d tried to find a way to come to terms with Karen’s death, he knew he’d been more than responsible. It was the burden he would have to carry the rest of his days, but maybe tonight if he was lucky, he would find a way to forget--to pretend that he hadn’t destroyed his everything. Maybe tonight he would drink himself to a state of oblivion that might prove to keep him from waking up in the morning and awakening to another day of torture. With that thought fresh on his mind, Frank approached the door to the run down bar.

“Here goes nothing,” he mouthed to himself pushing the box further in his pocket. He heard the sounds of music inside as he found himself praying that tonight would be his final night of torture.

************

“It’s all been a lie,” Billie groaned as she slumped over in her bar stool. While she’d tried to tell herself that she could rise above her past, the fact to the matter was that temptation was closer than she’d anticipated. In fact, it was sitting right in front of her staring her right in the face with the rack of bottles that were lined up in front of her. She could see each one of the labels beckoning her to choose them. They were taunting her and the worst part was that she was ready to lose herself to the poison. She was ready to embrace an old friend and release all the attempts she’d made at rising above the woman she once was. Tonight she was looking for warmth and comfort and despite the cruelty her old friend in the glass bottle provided her with, it was the only truth she’d ever known.

Closing her eyes she thought back to the final confrontation that lead her out of Salem. She could still recall the night that had finally pulled her away from her family and the life she’d fought to hold onto.

 

“A Dimera!” Billie shrieked horrified by the news that Lucas had pushed her mother into confessing. “Mom, how could you do this?”

“Billie, I was desperate and…” Kate began to backpedal, her eyes narrowing down at Sami as Sami had clearly guided Lucas to revealing the truth to Billie.

“Stefano Dimera? But how?” Billie blinked back at her mother, the weight of the news carrying it’s ugly burden upon her shoulders. “You slept with him and then lead me to believe that Curtis Reed was my father? You knew all this time that Stefano was my father, yet…”

“Billie I was trying to protect you. I know what kind of people the Dimeras are and I didn’t want…” Kate stepped in closer to her attempting to bridge the distance between them, but it was too late.

“Didn’t want what? Mom, you should have thought about that before you slept with him. Even now when I think about what you’re saying,” Billie shuddered as the cold, hard truth carried in over her. “You let Curtis have me. You lead him to believe that he was my father unless…”

“Billie,” Kate reached out to her daughter watching as horror flashed over Billie’s features.

“Oh my god. He knew the truth didn’t he?” Billie accused at her mother. “He was full aware of the fact that he wasn’t my father. He knew that Stefano was the man that…”

“I was trying to do what was right for you Billie,” Kate stammered for an explanation. “Stefano was a murderer and a…”

“Curtis stole Austin and I from you and then he spent years torturing me. He abused me time and time again,” Billie felt the tears stinging behind her dark eyes. “He drugged me and raped me and made me feel like less than nothing. I believed that it was because of me--because I had done something wrong, but all of this time it was because of you. He hurt me because he was trying to make you pay for the way you hurt him with your betrayal.”

“Billie, Curtis was a monster and if I could have taken back what he did to you, then you know that I would have,” Kate reached for her once again. “I didn’t know that you and Austin were still alive.”

“You didn’t care because when it gets down to it that’s what this always gets back to. All you were concerned with is yourself and what you want,” Billie clenched her fists at her sides. “It’s always been what you’ve made your top priority.”

“No, I’ve tried to be there for you and your brothers. You are my world and…” Kate attempted to explain herself.

“And you’ve done nothing, but made us miserable. When I think about all of the years that we’ve all been living these lies,” Billie shook her head as another thought carried over her. “That’s why Stefano took Georgia away isn’t it? That’s why he stole my daughter all those years ago. It’s because you ripped his away from him and never gave him a chance to be a father. You took away his child, so he wanted to make you pay, but like Curtis he used me to do it instead. He never wanted me to find Georgia, did he? I did though. I found my daughter even after his manipulations and…”

“Billie,” Lucas cleared his throat uneasily, his dark eyes weary and concerned, “maybe you should take a moment to sit down so we can talk.”

“I’m through talking. I’m going to go find my daughter and get us the hell out of this town. I’m finished with Salem and with this family,” Billie’s eyes narrowed down at Kate. “It’s because of you that I’ve never felt like I was anything. It’s because of you that I spent years chasing after a man who was clearly incapable of love. You broke me by keeping your truth to yourself Kate.”

“I did what I did to protect you Billie,” Kate explained tearfully. “I didn’t think that Curtis and Stefano would…”

“That’s just it Kate! You never think!” Billie snapped at her mother ready to turn the page in her story and never look back. Feeling tension mount over her, she drew in a small breath before speaking up again, “Rest assured however that I won’t be making the same mistakes with my daughter. I’m leaving so that she’ll have a chance to be free of the lies and the manipulations.”

“Billie, that’s just it,” Sami spoke up breaking her unusual silence, “You can’t leave town with her.”

“What?” Billie spun around to face Sami as Sami and Lucas exchanged worried glances. “Why?”

“Because Billie,” Lucas took in a breath knowing that his news would shatter his sister’s heart completely, “She’s not your daughter.”

 

Now as Billie returned to the present--to the bar that she’d happened upon on her trip away from Salem, she found herself surrounded by the weight of her brother’s confession. The truth still remained and not only had Billie lost her mother, but she’d lost the daughter that she’d grown to love. Chelsea hadn’t been Georgia at all, but rather a girl that Tony had planted in Salem to give Billie false hope. He’d opted to torture Billie until she would be at her weakest and only then would he crush her with the news that her daughter was just another game that the Dimeras played to destroy her.

“Forget about it,” Billie mouthed to herself trying to get a grip on what the hands of fate had dealt her way. Still the pain was very raw and very real even now.

“What can I get for you?” the bartender questioned drawing her out from her thoughts.

“I think I’ll take a martini,” she began contemplating her selection for a moment, “No I think I’ll take something stronger than that. Actually I think I’ll take a…”

“First class ticket back to Salem,” a voice interrupted as Billie looked up to see Bo standing beside her. She felt his fingers brush up against the bare skin of her arm as his dark eyes fixed upon hers. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Yes I do,” she bit down on her lower lip unable to believe that the man she’d once loved was standing in front of her. While she’d anticipated leaving her old life behind, here was the one man she’d ever truly felt alive with beside her, trying to guide her away from temptation.

“Billie, look I heard from Lucas what was going on and while it kills me too, you need to see that…” Bo started his eyes reaching out to her once again.

“That what? That we lost our daughter all over again Bo? Did they tell you that Chelsea isn’t ours?” Billie questioned painfully.

“I know that,” he nodded in response, “but we can find a way to deal with this. You need to come back home and…”

“And what? What’s left for me?” Billie couldn’t help but ask, her heart sinking further.

“I’m still here for you,” he reached out to touch her cheek gently, “Billie, I care about you and I don’t want to see you hurting like this.”

“Bo,” she trembled at his touch, her words coming out in a low breath of a whisper as she closed her eyes. She leaned into his touch remembering only too well what it had been like to have him holding her. She ached at the memory of his arms around her, of his lips whispering words of sweet love to her, but that was the past. Now was a different time and a different place.

“Come home with me,” he urged her on once again causing all the old familiar feelings to stir up inside of her. “Billie, stop torturing yourself and come back to Salem.”

“Bo I can’t,” she shook her head in refusal fighting the tears that threatened to contain her. “I can’t go back knowing that…”

He placed his thumb over her bottom lip to silence her words. “Billie, I know this hurts, but we can get through this together. We can lean on one another and…”

“And what? You can somehow erase all the lies that I’ve lived with?” she challenged with a wounded expression. “That somehow you can find a way to make me happy again?”

“I can try,” Bo offered up in a faint whisper. He leaned in closer to her, his thumb skimming over her cheekbone as her tears slid down her pale cheek.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted for you to make this go away,” she closed her eyes feeling her world falling apart. Everything had gone to hell, yet there was Bo right in front of her ready to be her hero again. He was holding her and promising her a second chance at happiness. It was just like old times again until he found a way to burst her bubble of happiness.

“Hope is waiting outside and we can just get out of here and…” he started to explain as her eyes snapped open once again.

“You’re here with Hope,” a frown creased over her lips.

He nodded, “She and I have been looking all over for you and after we chased a few leads…”

“Hope,” she repeated with a dry laugh, “Well it’s nice to see that you are doing better than ever with each other.”

“Billie,” he blinked back at her surprised by the bitterness in her tone.

“I’m sure she’s thrilled to discover that our daughter is dead. I’m sure this is just a huge relief for her to have that kind of weight off of her shoulders. She never wanted us to be a family and now,” Billie stopped herself as her eyes wandered over to the front door of the bar. There standing underneath the dim neon lighting was Hope looking agitated and rather impatient.

“You know that’s not true,” Bo objected to her words. “Hope is worried about you and…”

“And she’s just hoping that you’ll turn around and forget about finding me,” Billie slid off of the barstool, “but rest assured I’m about to do her that favor all on my own. I’m leaving.”

“Billie wait,” Bo reached out to snag her arm in his. “Don’t go.”

“Let go of me Bo!” Billie snapped spinning around to face him once again.

“No, I’m not letting you leave until you at least hear me out. We have to talk and…” Bo protested as Billie felt the walls around her closing in on her. Despite Bo’s intentions, it was painfully clear that life would never be the same again. She was a fool to expect anything more than misery in her life.

************

Frank sipped his beer feeling the lukewarm taste roll down the back of his throat. While he’d contemplated going over to the jukebox to pick a tune to fit his mood, he’d found himself more distracted by the scene taking place at the bar. Sure, he’d noticed the woman when he’d first walked in. She was quite the looker with her soft curves and dark hair, yet in her own way she seemed just as miserable as he was. He’d seen her contemplating her drink selection and he’d almost offered to join her in her sorrows, but then she’d received company.

Now as he sat in his seat watching the two interact, he began to wonder if perhaps he should have walked over to introduce himself. At first he’d thought she seemed pleased with the new arrival, but now the two were bickering with one another back and forth. Their voices were elevated with their emotions and as Frank watched her backhand the man beside her, he could see that trouble was going to follow.

He saw the woman turn to leave only to have the man seized her arm again. Her companion started to drag her back towards the entrance when she reached out to one of the tables and grabbed a pitcher of beer from the center of it. She sent it down over the man’s head with a heightened movement causing the man to buckle forward into the table. It crashed down to the ground with him on top of it and there was a scream across the bar. Frank’s eyes followed the sound and he discovered that the duo had not only captured the attention of the woman at the door, but that of security as well.

“Oh hell,” Frank muttered under his breath weaving his way towards the woman and snagging her arm in his.

“What in the…” she stammered clearly caught up in the moment of confusion now that her companion was laid out flat on the ground.

“If you stick around, you’re more than likely going to be spending a night in jail. Trust me I know all about this,” Frank mouthed quickly before pulling her towards the back entrance to the bar. He could see the initial protest behind her eyes, but as security closed in, he felt her reluctantly follow eager to escape the situation she’d put herself into.

************

“I could have handled that on my own,” Billie huffed once she and her mystery man had weaved their way out of the bar to a run down hotel room in the area. While she knew full well that going into a strange place with a man she met at a bar was a completely foolish move especially considering that they haven’t even really said more than a couple of words together, she realized that the alternative was much more unsavory. “I didn’t need your help back there.”

“You could have fooled me on that one,” he quipped with a laugh in the back of his throat. “Believe me I know disaster when I see it and you were heading towards it full force.”

“I was doing just fine,” she objected. As she took in her surroundings, she finally forced herself to face him completely while ready to lash out at him. A surprised gasp fell from her lips as she met his intense green eyes. His dark hair was wild and in a state of disarray from the running that they’d done out of the bar, yet there was something strikingly handsome about him. He was dark and mysterious dressed in all black, yet there was something in his face that caused Billie’s heart to flutter.

“You didn’t look like it. Believe me I know the signs of someone who is about to ruin their life and you were doing just about every one of them in assaulting that guy,” he continued to lecture her as Billie found herself drawn to his lips. The words continued to fly out, yet as Billie found herself suddenly aware of the nearness of him, she felt herself overcome by a new set of sensations.

“And just what makes you an expert? Are you some kind of bad boy?” she raised a curious brow while giving him a complete once over. In a second she almost hoped that he’d answer her with a resounding yes, but instead he took a step back.

“I’m just someone who probably shouldn’t have intervened, but it’s too late for that now,” he crossed the room once again, moving to take a seat on the edge of his unmade bed. He brought his hand up to his dark hair before tilting his chin just enough to catch her gaze once again. “Look, I’m sure the police are probably long gone by now if you want to leave.”

“Of course I want to leave,” she took a tentative step towards him, “but the guy I hit not only happens to be my ex-husband, but he’s a cop.”

“Oh you’re really on fire tonight, aren’t you?” he couldn’t help but laugh. “And I thought that I was doing something stupid tonight.”

“Bringing a strange woman to your hotel room is kind of stupid if you ask me,” Billie surveyed her surroundings once again. She wrinkled her nose at him before speaking up, “Although something tells me that you aren’t used to really living it up judging by this dump you’re staying in.”

“Being in a dump, no one asks questions about who you are or what your intentions are,” he tossed back at her with a hint of a mysterious smirk.

“You are trouble, aren’t you?” Billie mused seeing something behind his eyes. “You want to pretend you’re a hero, but you’re far from it, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t been a hero in over a decade,” he confessed honestly, a hint of pain behind his tone. He eyed her for a long moment of silence as if contemplating his words. Leaning back on his elbows, he wiggled his brow suggestively. “You can rest assured that whatever thoughts had crossed your mind about leaving were probably well advised.”

“Is that so?” she questioned making a small movement towards him.

He nodded, “That’s right. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m the big, bad wolf.”

“The big, bad wolf who just so happens to pull perfect strangers out of a bar before they land themselves in jail,” she replied with doubt evident in her tone. “I don’t buy that.”

“I wasn’t asking you to because I wasn’t trying to sell it,” he sat up straighter. “Look, like I said I shouldn’t have stepped in like I did, but…”

“But you did and now we found ourselves in a bit of a situation,” she closed her eyes for a moment thinking about how it had felt to have Bo holding her. She bit down on her lower lip nervously before focusing her attention on the man in front of her. It had been a while since she’d captured anyone’s interest and especially anyone who was nearly as good looking as the bronzed man before her. There was something behind his eyes that was so familiar and distant, yet it was a look that she’d known only too well.

“How so?” he questioned as she sauntered over to him.

“Well, it seems that you’ve got me where you want me, so the question is what do you want with me?” she arched a curious brow before sliding onto his lap ready to forget about the world she left behind.

************

“I don’t think you want to be heading in this direction,” Frank gulped feeling the arms of one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen wrap around his shoulder. He could clearly feel the warmth of seduction on her fingertips, tempting him to find a new way to avoid his suffering, but as she leaned in closer to him, he recognized the look behind her dark eyes.

“Why not?” she questioned curiously, her dark hair falling around her face and framing it beautifully. “I mean that’s what you were hoping for, wasn’t it?”

“I didn’t sneak you out of there because I was looking for any favors,” he explained tightly unable to ignore the scent of her perfume or the way that she seemed to melt into him reminding him all over again that it had been far too long since he’d allowed a woman to give him any kind of attention. He felt her lean forward, her lips dangerously close to his earlobe as her words came out in a slow, alluring whisper.

“Consider it a bonus,” she suggested bridging the distance between them. Her fingers tangled in his dark hair before her mouth met his in an explosive union.

While he’d tried to pretend that he wasn’t effected by it, the truth to the matter is that Frank had given up on any kind of physical relationship in his life after Karen died. He’d blamed himself time and time again for her downfall and he’d sworn off opening himself to temptation, yet as this beautiful, bold woman curved her fingertips over his spine, he couldn’t help but slide his arms around her waist and invite the union between them.

“See, now doesn’t this feel better?” she questioned with a hint of laughter in her tone as they parted. Her eyes sought out his and reminded him all over again of the man he’d once been before Karen came into his life. He’d been wild and eager to throw caution to the wind, yet Karen had grounded him. Karen had been his life and now…

“No, I can’t do this,” Frank protested attempting to shrug her off of his lap, but instead he’d found himself greeted by a more profound feel of her curves over his. She clearly had no problems taking charge in her life, yet as he thought of the man he’d pulled her away from at the bar, he knew she was trouble.

“Sure you can,” she slurred, a hint of alcohol on her breath even though he’d sworn she hadn’t taken a drink.

“No, I can’t,” he decided ready to put the brakes on this strange situation between them when he felt her hand press against his thigh. He sucked in a breath closing his eyes and allowing her fingers to taper up over his leg until she reached into his pocket. His eyes snapped open in realization only to discover her holding the ring box in her hand.

“Expecting something a little bit more than a good time?” she questioned opening up the box to inspect the ring inside of it.

“That isn’t for you,” Frank snarled swiping the box from her finger tips. He quickly shuffled her onto the mattress before getting up off of the bed and pacing around the room.

“Ok, so if it’s not for me, then what’s the story?” she inquired stretching out across the bed and propping her head up on her hand. Her legs splashed over the blankets as she eyed him expectantly, “Well?”

“The woman who was meant to wear this is dead,” Frank blurted out finding himself met with a painful dose of reality. “She died a few years ago and this, well it serves as a reminder of why I don’t do things like I did tonight.”

“Why because it might actually mean that you’re still alive? That you have a reason to keep on going in this world?” she tossed back at him seeing the hesitation behind his eyes.

“Like you’re one to talk about living. I could see by the way you were staring at the drinks everyone else had that you weren’t interested in thinking about the miracles of life,” Frank snarled in response wondering why in the world he’d been so compelled to save her from herself.

“Yeah, well what do you know about anything?” she huffed in response kicking her legs out over the bed with heavy agitation. “I told you before and I’ll say it again I was doing fine on my own.”

“Yeah, it showed,” he rolled his eyes at her, “but hey you know what? We don’t have to bother with this small talk any longer. I’ll just show you the way out of here and…”

“Fine,” she rubbed her palms together before making her way towards the hotel room door, “You do that.”

“I will,” he insisted stomping across the room while wondering what in the world they were even bickering about. He opened the door ready to escort this miserable woman out of his life forever and be done with playing the hero once and for all.

“Good,” she snubbed her nose at him watching him open up the door. She took a step forward before stopping herself and turning around to face him once again, “but before you point me in the right direction you owe me a drink since you kidnapped me from the bar.”

“I didn’t kidnap you,” he frowned in response, “You were about to be thrown in jail.”

“I still would have found time for a drink, so I think it’s time to pay up,” she announced with a huff puffing her chest out to stare him down.

“Fine, if it gets you out of my life faster, then a drink it is,” Frank decided waving his hand dismissively before following her out of his hotel room ready to put the waste of a night behind him once and for all.

************

 

Billie groaned as the first hint of sunlight filtered in across the room she was sleeping in. Even though her face was buried firmly in the mattress beneath her, she could feel the heat of the sun’s rays splashing across her body and providing her with a warmth that was almost uncomfortable this early in the morning. Groaning, she reached for her pillow only to discover that it was missing.

“Couldn’t it just rain today?” she whined in a muffled tone against the sheet beneath her.

She turned away from the source of the light only to discover a solid warmth beside her. Keeping her eyes closed her fingers felt around across the bed as her hand pressed in over a solid, smoothness of muscle beneath her touch. She continued to search over the soft skin that seemed to melt in against hers and suddenly a thought carried over her.

Snapping her eyes open, Billie found herself lost in the faint memory of the night behind her. She could remember being at the bar. She recalled hitting Bo with the pitcher of beer and then there was the man who’d snuck her out of the bar and now…

“Oh my God,” Billie gasped sitting up fully only to discover that she’d lost her clothing with the sheet she’d had wrapped around her. She looked around the room realizing that she must’ve shed her clothing the previous evening when…

“Oh no,” she turned to face her companion once again as her eyes fell upon his bare chest. His eyes were closed, by as she searched his features, she could remember only too well how she’d pleaded with him to buy her a drink. It was one right after another and then after a while, she’d started dancing on top of a pool table and then…

“This can’t be happening,” she whispered to herself watching as he started to shift beside her. Frowning she slapped at his shoulder while reaching for the sheet. “Get up!”

“What?” he questioned lazily before groaning and turning away from her. “No, not yet. Just give me fiver more minutes.”

“I’m going to give you five seconds before I get my gun out of my purse and,” she paused as her gaze settled in on the small of his back. Her eyes widened as flashes of his body started to pour out from her subconscious. The dangerous lines of his backside were revealed to her and as Billie spotted the empty box of condoms on the nightstand beside her, she realized she’d managed to snag more than a few drinks out of him.

“So much for saying no you pervert!” Billie squealed with heavy agitation as she kicked her leg out and sent him crashing down to the floor.

“What the hell…” he shuffled to his feet after the landing only to see her in his bed. His green eyes widened with the same surprise that had overtaken her. Only this time she found herself on the receiving end of a far more shocking discovery now that he stood before her completely naked. Her gaze lingered over his muscled contours until he’d realized his state of undress and grabbed a pillow to cover himself up. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” she replied clinging to the sheet she’d found herself wrapped up in. She opened her mouth to say something more, to find a way to rationalize how she’d gone from being upset about Bo, to attempting to seducing the man with no response only to wind up bedding him in the end. Thoughts ran through her brain scattered by the ache in her temple, but as she raised her hand to her forehead in the hopes of sorting things out, that’s when she noticed the gold band on her finger.

“Look, I told you that we should have stopped at two drinks,” her companion offered up in protest desperately searching for his clothing. He spotted his boxer shorts across the room and he took a step forward. He paused contemplating the movement before reaching for another pillow to completely cover it up. It was then that he too noticed the matching gold band on his ring. “What the…”

“I think we have a problem,” Billie blurted out horrified while raising her finger in the air to show off the matching set of rings that they were wearing. “A big one.”

 


End file.
